Whether you own your own home or not, you can’t help but know about the subprime mortgage crisis that is sweeping across America as foreclosures are claiming people’s homes everywhere we look.

Well, almost everywhere. Even in light of the foreclosure epidemic and what appears to be a looming economic recession, it seems to be that New York City—especially Manhattan—is immune to the kinds of mass foreclosures and repossessions that are plaguing the rest of the country.

“It has impacted it in the way that it’s a little more difficult to secure a loan, especially in a co-op, but that being said, the market is still strong here,” says Colleen Dwinell, a sales agent at DJK Residential. “We are insulated here in Manhattan, and because there are so many co-ops and the co-op boards are so strict, the people who got in are very qualified and you don’t really see that foreclosure monster anywhere near us.”

In fact, condos and co-ops in Manhattan continue to thrive, despite a downturn on Wall Street and a declining housing market nearly every other part of the country.

“Manhattan has been fairly isolated from the subprime meltdown because very few subprime loans are issued to Manhattan borrowers,” says Vicki Been, director of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. “In 2006, only 0.8 percent of new home purchase loans in Manhattan were subprime, compared to 19.7 percent citywide.”